PPC - Pulsed Particle/Coilgun
The PPC or Pulsed Particle/Coilgun weapon system has been the stalwart design of the Hegemony Armed Forces. At the very core of the system, it is based on the Gatling gun from the early history of Terra. A quartet (or for some larger systems up to eight) of barrels for the Particle Cannon part are wrapped around a single barrel for the coilgun. Cooling jackets are included for spacecraft as they cannot be air-cooled and many of the larger ships have the entire system wrapped in a single massive cooling jacket making the weapon system appear to be a single large barreled weapon. The cannon system uses a rotation mechanism to spin the barrels of the Particle Cannon sub-system to keep wear on the barrels to a minimum and to produce a high rate of fire. As each barrel is moved into position, they have an internal capacitor that fires off a burst of particles. Operating in a Pulse mode, that is the cannon system fires multiple shots at once, the PPC is capable of a high rate of fire. The coilgun uses a series of gravitic emitters to propel a projectile down the barrel as it passes through multiple coils. Sizes given for a particular PPC is for the coilgun portion rather than for the Particle Cannon portion. Ranging in size from Light (5 mm), to Medium (40 mm), and Heavy (200 mm) the coilgun is a deadly weapon system for the HAF Navy and Army. Lighter models (2 mm) are used with Interceptor Systems''. Ammunition is created by either using the mass concentrator to increase the mass of waste Helium from the Energy Captor System to form the projectiles or by using an internal supply of foam rounds that are then mass concentrated to the appropriate mass for the projectiles. The large Heavy series is able to fire a mix of specialty munitions, including antimatter. Conception and Implementation First conceived during the time period between the two World Wars on Terra, the first coilgun system was developed as an add-on to a chemically fired projectile. The first production model of the coilgun was a 37 mm cannon that added two magnetic coils (later replaced with gravitic emitters) to further accelerate the low velocity projectile. The added acceleration made the poorly performing cannon into a dangerous armor piercing system. It was also a relatively light weight solution to mounting larger and larger ballistic and chemically fired projectile cannons on the new series of aircraft and tank designs. The coilgun system was further refined by creating smaller units that infantry units could wield. Firing a tiny projectile, modeled on an aerodynamic lifting body shape and sized like a grain of sand, the infantry scale coilgun was later replaced by a post-war 2 mm rifle system. This same caliber would later form the basis of the Interceptor system on HAF Navy ships and would also be the main weapon system used by HAF Army vehicles. As advances in metallurgy allowed for larger cannon designs and heavier shell types, the coilgun design changed with the advaces as well. Married to a rapid fire particle cannon setup, the PPC design began to take form as the main warship weapon system. Even though the first line of warships used separate particle cannons and coilguns, the PPC soon replaced them (aside from spinal mounted heavy coilguns, that is). The combination of a rapid fire particle cannon system with the myriad of ammunition types for the coilgun made a combination that was tough to beat. Indeed, the coilgun system remains in use on HAF Navy and Army designs. Later Designs As Bureau 13 began to release a number of upgrades for ships and weapon designs with the HRAD (Hegemony Research and Development) Centers, they unlocked Kirishiac designs that had implications on the basic PPC design. Dubbed the PIUC, short for Pulsed Ion/Ultramatter Cannon, the new system made use of the captured Centauri Ion Cannon setup in the same arrangement as the PPC system. The center part of the PIUC was the newly developed Ultramatter Cannon, itself an "upgrade" to the coilgun system used in the Hegemony Armed Forces. Back engineered from Kirishiacs plans, the Ultramatter Cannon boasted an incredibly massive projectile system that featured hefty kinetic energy, but a slower rate of fire than comparable coilgun designs. The PIUC system was used heavily until Gravitic Augmenters began being used across the HAF Navy. Based on a Kirishiac derived system, the Gravitic Augmenter featured fields of gravitic energy that could increase the destructive force of kinetic systems on a warship along with degrading enemy projectile weapon systems. With the Gravitic Augmenters being used heavily across the fleet, the older Ultramatter Cannon gave way to the older coilgun design. While hard hitting, the Ultramatter Cannon's slow rate of fire limited the usefulness of the design. The older Light series of coilguns had an incredible rate of fire (with bursts of five and ten rounds) that was made deadlier by the Gravitic Augmenter. Later ships would indeed still carry the PIC system and indeed some upgraded ships also carried the Coilgun Array in a separate housing. The Coilgun Array is reminiscent of the PPC design, but instead of the quartet of particle cannon barrels it instead has a quintet of light coilgun barrels. A modified feed system allows each barrel to fire off a stream of five rounds in a burst per barrel and is augemented by the Gravitic Augmenter. This higher rate of fire and the use of the Inferno round (a "standard" 5 mm round capped off with a deciliter of ''Naquada) makes the Coilgun Array dangerous to First One type enemies. Category:Technology